warriorsfanficfandomcom-20200213-history
With Scarlet Claws
Will it end? This darkness can't be stopped. It keeps rising and rising until one day, it will reach its peak. Only then will this darkness fall. But for now, this darkness rules. written by Phoenix Flight 0 . 0 Hey, you need to be more quiet. You're gonna get us caught! I know we're almost a tree-length away from their camp, but still, you can't just go complaining about something every heartbeat! Seriously... Huh? What d'you mean, What happened? Remember, our Clan fell to— Ohhhh, right. You weren't even born. Right. Your mom told me to take you away from the Clan. Riiiiight. H-hey, you sure about this? I mean, the story'll probably be too much for your tiny kit mind to take. Okay, geez, if you're sure. Just calm down. Hm... it all started when Tigerclaw was the deputy of ThunderClan. 1 . 0 The battle raged around me. All I could hear were the screeches and yowls of ThunderClan and the rogues. I saw the shaggy pelt of Greystripe, with a couple of scratches on his flank and blood streaking his face; the pale silver tabby pelt of Longtail, a long, red slash running down his side. His blue eyes, however, still gleamed with determination as he leaped at a rogue. Fireheart, Sandstorm, Whitestorm, Thornpaw. All were scratching and clawing and biting, doing their best to drive away the rogues. I saw Fireheart get thrown over by a rather large rogue, so I ran forward to help when a paw struck me in the side of the head. My vision went fuzzy for a few heartbeats. I shook my head, eyes tight shut, then whipped around to face my attacker. I had my ice-blue eyes narrowed, so I probably looked malicious and maybe a bit sadistic. The cat was a very lithe - or was she just thin? - ragged-furred white she-cat with dark green eyes. I almost thought she was Whitestorm, because I hadn't guessed her gender. Then I realized that Whitestorm wasn't that small nor thin. I snarled, "You'll pay for that!" I lashed out with a paw, my claws fully unsheathed, but the cat hadn't budged. She didn't even flinch as my claws raked over her nose. "Well?" I hissed. "Fight!" She muttered something I barely heard. Then she turned tail and ran away. I stood, confused. Then I noticed a ginger flash as Fireheart practically flew into Bluestar's den. I heard one scream, a scream that pierced the sky and StarClan itself. "Bluestar!" 1 . 1 I streaked over to the den, weaving around the battling cats. My ears and tail dropped as the scene before me revealed itself in one big burst of color and fur. I saw a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes glinting cruelly as his demented smile slowly turned toward Fireheart. The cat had long claws, longer than any I'd ever seen. A pinkish-red scar ran down his face, from the corner of his right eye down to his mouth. A slash had split his left ear. I immediately recognized Tigerclaw. His long, yellowish claws were stained scarlet, and his fangs glinted white, with only scarlet liquid making them imperfect. It dropped down onto his chin, and ran down it sluggishly, making a faint red trail through the pale cream fur. At his paws lay a limp blue-grey pile of fur, its lifeless blue eyes half-closed. Blood covered the cat in splotches, so some of its fur was a bluish-red color, while some of it was pure red. Its claws were half-unsheathed, as if it had tried to put up a fight. In the places where the blood wasn't weighing it down, its fur was slightly bristling. A thin trail of blood ran from the corner of its slightly open mouth, making a tiny pool at the cat's cheek. And then it hit me. That cat was Bluestar. I nearly fainted when I realized that. Our deputy. The loyal, strong, fierce Tigerclaw had just killed ThunderClan's leader. Fireheart's green eyes flashed furiously. "Tigerclaw!" he screeched, his voice shrill. His claws flashed as he leapt toward the dark tabby, paws outstretched. His orange fur was bristling, and he was angrier than I'd ever seen him. Tigerclaw's huge clawed paw swiped him in the side of the head, and he was thrown into the wall. Fireheart fell to the ground, just a limp pile of fur. From my viewpoint, I saw him breathing, just barely. His green eyes were narrowed to slits, and he gasped something inaudible. "The little hero." Tigerclaw sneered, padding slowly over to stand over Fireheart. "Looks like you were too late. Now, I rule this Clan. And no one can stop me." I took a few steps back, tears stinging my eyes, then I turned tail and ran, ignoring the rogues and Clan cats. With the loudest voice I could, I roared, "Bluestar's dead!" 2 . 0 Everything stopped. Even the rogues whirled around to face me, eyes wide. Some cat, probably a Clan cat, let out a choking cry of disbelief. I heard Mousefur yowl, "No!" Just then, Tigerclaw stalked out of the den. Most cats glared at him with rage or gazed at him with admiration. And me? I was glowering at him with pure hatred in my eyes. I doubted that he'd seen me standing frozen like an idiot as he battled Fireheart, because he never glanced my way. Instead, he leaped up onto the Highrock and yowled, "Bluestar is dead! She fell at the claws of a rogue, and I got my revenge! We now grieve for our poor leader." His amber eyes betray his words. I know he's lying, too. "And now I, Tigerclaw, must go and receive my nine lives!" His voice sounds almost malicious. "I will leave tonight." Then he paused and added, "And we have new Clanmates." As he called their names, he nodded to them, "Blackfoot, whom you may know from ShadowClan." A few yowls rose from the ThunderClan cats. "Snag," Tigerclaw continued, "Mowgli, Clawface, Stumpytail, Tangleburr, Starling, Dagger, Wish, Leap, Flame, Berry, and Swipe." My real Clanmates were snarling and hissing at the rogues. I couldn't blame them - bringing rogues that just attacked us into our Clan isn't the best thing in the world. 2 . 1 Wish was the youngest rogue. The next youngest was Berry. Both cats stayed in the apprentices' den under the training of Blackfoot and Stumpytail. Wish was nice, but I just didn't like her. She wanted to be friends, I could tell. But how could I be friends with a rogue that attacked my Clan's camp? I visited Fireheart in Yellowfang's den. I also spotted Brokentail, who lay completely still, but I hated that fox-heart. Fireheart lay in a nest, his claws digging into the moss. Yellowfang looked at me, sorrow in her orange eyes. Fireheart's mournful sobbing filled the den, and I could barely listen. But I padded over to him and sat beside him, laying my tail over his shoulders. He started. He stared at me with cloudy green eyes. "Cinderpaw?" he asks, sounding hopeful. I shook my head. "No, Fireheart. Swiftpaw." I mewed gently. My tone must have sounded too much like Cinderpaw, by the way he looked at me. He blinked, then shook his head. "Oh, Swiftpaw. Hi." He sounded disappointed, but I dismissed that. He was mourning. Trying not to look at the poultices that were plastered over some parts of his pelt, I mewed, "It'll be alright, Fireheart." Then he looked up at me, his eyes flashing in fury. Startled, I stood and stepped back. He snarled, "No, Swiftpaw, it won't! It never will! Bluestar's dead, and Tigerclaw's leading the Clan now. He'll bring this Clan crashing down, made up of nothing but rogues and betrayal! All because I was too late." He slipped back into sorrow again, and quietly started to sob again. Cinderpaw, who had approached while Fireheart was ranting, laid her fluffy tail across my shoulders and murmured, "You should go." I nodded and turned to leave. As soon as I stepped outside, Longtail ran into me. He looked afraid for a heartbeat, then relaxed. The cobwebs on his wounds were soaked red, and I watched as he limped past me over to Cinderpaw, explaining something in a low voice. "H-hey, Swiftpaw!" a quiet voice calls out, and I whipped around to see Wish, who was holding a couple of squirrels by their tails. "I just finished hunting, and I was wondering if you were hungry. I have two squirrels, so, do you want to eat with me?" she offered, a hopeful look in her eyes. A deep scratch was clearly visible on her white-furred cheek, and I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. But I did feel hungry. At the mention of food, my stomach growled loudly. I hesitated, then nodded wordlessly and followed Wish to the spot where the apprentices ate, directly to the left of the apprentices' den. We sat across fro each other and tucked into our fresh-kill without a word exchanged. When we were finished, I stood and picked up the remains of my squirrel to toss in the dirtplace when Wish stopped me. "Swiftpaw, I know Tigerclaw's rogues attacked you and everything, but... couldn't you at least give me a chance to be your friend?" she asked as she scooped her leftovers into a pile. I stared at her wordlessly for a few heartbeats. Then I hissed, "We'll never be friends." I took the rest of my squirrel into my jaws and turned to stalk off. Wish's small voice piped up as I was storming off. "Not all of us wanted to attack you." 3 . 0 "Brightpaw!" I yowled, my voice ringing through the trees. "Where are you?" A ginger-and-white head poked out from a bramble thicket, and bright green eyes shone as they met my own blue gaze. "Swiftpaw!" she purred, her voice muffled by the two mice she carried in her jaws. She padded over to meet me, dropping the grey-brown mice to the side. "I see you were hunting?" "Yeah." Then her eyes looked troubled. "It helped me get my mind off of things. Will Tigerclaw hurt Fireheart? ...Is Whitestorm still going to be my mentor?" I pressed my nose against her shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry. Everyone'll be fine, I promise you that." Suddenly a flash of white caught my eye. For a heartbeat I thought it was Berry, Wish's older brother, but it turned out to be Cloudpaw, Fireheart's kittypet nephew. "Swiftpaw, Brightpaw," he panted, his fur fluffed out. "Tigerclaw needs you back in camp. He's... ack... calling a meeting." He coughed, and I noticed that his fluffy white fur had dusty patches covering it, as if he'd been rolling around in the training hollow. Then with a jolt, I saw a few red beads welled up under his left eye, and the fur under it was stained. "Cloudpaw," Brightpaw gasped, eying the wound, "what happened?" Cloudpaw shook his head in reply. Taking a deep breath, he explained, "One of Tigerclaw's followers - Mowgli, I think - scratched me after I refused to bring him fresh-kill." His voice was bitter. I blinked, then sighed, "Okay. Thanks for letting us know." Taking Brightpaw's mice in my teeth, I jerked my head in the direction of camp. The three of us headed back to camp silently. 4 . 0 I could hear the shrieks of protest before I set foot in camp. As I pushed my way through the gorse tunnel, I saw ginger fur huddled in the clearing, with cats hovering around the Highrock. Tigerclaw's massive tabby figure stood tall on the Highrock, his tail lifted and his long claws scraping the smooth stone underpaw. With a jolt, I instantly recognized the ginger lump as Fireheart. The warrior was already shaken by Bluestar's death, and now Tigerclaw's leadership over the Clan that he held so dearly. I can't understand exactly how he feels, but he must feel as if his world is being ripped apart like a badger's slashing claws to fur. Cloudpaw looked terrified, and Brightpaw laid her tail over the younger cat's shoulders. I heard my mentor, Longtail, screech, "Spare him!" Yellowfang, the elderly medicine cat, yowled, "Don't set a claw on him!" Her patchy grey fur was bristling, even under the icy stares of the rogues. Cinderpaw was pressed against her mentor, her blue eyes wide. "I'll flay you alive if you harm him!" Greystripe snarled defiantly, his yellow gaze burning into Tigerclaw. This outburst only created more chaos. After a while, Tigerclaw roared, "Silence!" Silence settled over the clearing at once. Tigerclaw cleared his throat. "As you know, Fireheart was once a kittypet, and a strong supporter of Bluestar. He also tried to attack me in Bluestar's den, while I was saving our precious leader from death. He is the traitor here!" "Liar!" "Fireheart would try to save Bluestar!" The tom bared his teeth at the cats before continuing, "This kittypet must be exterminated like the vermin he is." Fireheart stiffened as if he were about to spring at Tigerclaw, but he only growled, "Everything he is saying is a lie. He tried to kill Bluestar. I was going to save her. I... I was too late." His voice had changed into a sob, and Sandstorm stepped toward him, her green eyes sympathetic. One of Tigerclaw's rogues snapped at Sandstorm, shoving the fiery she-cat back. Mousefur blocked Sandstorm with her long tail, shaking her head and saying something. Sandstorm reluctantly sat back down, her shoulders hunched. Cloudpaw looked as if he were in pain. Fireheart had brought him into the Clan, and now he was watching his only kin die. One of the elders, Halftail, shouted, "Don't kill him!" Tigerclaw glared at the old tabby before snapping, "It's my Clan! My rules." Looking back at Fireheart, he yowled, "This traitor will die!" "You're talking about yourself." growled Speckletail. He either didn't hear her or ignored her. "Mowgli, Clawface!" Tigerclaw hissed. "Kill Fireheart." Immediately, the two rogues sprang toward the warrior. In the same instant, several ThunderClan cats leaped to defend him. Greystripe pounced on Mowgli, sinking his teeth deep into the smaller cat's neck. Sandstorm, Yellowfang, Runningwind, and Longtail blocked Clawface, each of them swiping at the massive cat. Some of Tigerclaw's cats leaped to their paws, as if to rescue Clawface and Mowgli, but Tigerclaw waved his tail. They sat, confused. Fireheart rose to his paws, lashing his tail. He lunged at Mowgli as the tom broke free from Greystripe's grasp and tried to slash Greystripe's throat. Mowgli was bowled over and Fireheart buried his claws into the rogue's throat. Mowgli's flanks heaved, and his eyes were full of fear as he stared up at the ThunderClan cat. Fireheart stopped, then slashed his claws through Mowgli's throat. Brightpaw gasped, and Cloudpaw looked away. Killing a cat like that wasn't like Fireheart. Even Fireheart himself looked regretful, but he sprang to aid his Clanmates in fighting Clawface. The dark warrior was frantically clawing at Runningwind and Yellowfang, one eye closed. I noticed the wound over that eye. Yellowfang snapped at Clawface's neck, tearing away some of his fur, and Sandstorm had leaped up onto his back, her hind claws raking his back. Runningwind sliced at Clawface's nose while Longtail bit at his ears. With support from both Fireheart and Greystripe, Clawface was soon unconcious from blood loss. Brindleface had disappeared, and Brightpaw couldn't even look at the amount of blood in the clearing now. On the Highrock, Tigerclaw was shaking his head in disapproval. "There's no room for the weak in this Clan." -tbc- Category:Fan Fictions Category:Eevee's Fanfictions